deluded » diluted

Variant(s):  self-diluted

Classification: English – /t/-flapping

Spotted in the wild:

  • He says it makes him weep when he sees them poor diluted fools going around and thinking they is well men, talking and laughing and marrying and giving in to marriage right on the edge of the grave. (Danny's Own Story, by Don Marquis, 1912)
  • No, it comes from plain, simple spite. Spite, caused by people who think the average Mac user is some sad, diluted fool who doesn’t “know any better”. (Capitalist Lion, June 24, 2003)
  • Can we ever again be diluted into believing sanctions work? (OpinionJournal reader response, Nov. 2003)
  • Obviously buoyed by the self-diluted notion of momentum and the L.A. Times Poll thru the Conservative echo chamber buzz, the Bush camp and the RNC knew damn well the contents of Miller’s speech – and, pulled the trigger on another ‘slam dunk’, anyway. (Democrats & Liberals, Sep. 6, 2004)
  • Indeed, these diluted souls (as represented by Mr. Carlson above) feel they have the right to tell a worldwide religious organization who should lead them. (Righting Wisconsin, Apr. 22, 2005)

Analyzed or reported by:

For many American speakers, diluted can be pronounced with a first vowel of /ə/ or /ɪ/ (and the usual flap or tap for intervocalic /t/), rendering it nearly homonymous with deluded.

| link | entered by Ben Zimmer, 2005/07/16 |

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